From Alcoholism to Christ — Matt Talbot Has Become an Inspiration for Those Struggling with Addiction

VENERABLE Matt Talbot, an Irishman whose journey from alcoholism to the heights of sainthood has inspired many who struggle with addiction, is being considered for sainthood in the Church.

After spending more than a decade of his life as an alcoholic, Talbot found strength in the Eucharist, the rosary and confession to fulfill a vow he made at age 28 to abstain from all alcohol and, in doing so, cultivated a deep inner spiritual life that led some to dub him “an urban mystic.”

Father Selva Thomas, one of the Salesian priests who ministers at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Dublin, Ireland, where Talbot is buried, said many people struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction continue to come to pray at Talbot’s grave nearly 100 years after his death.

“Matt Talbot has become an inspiration to many people,” Father Thomas said.

People feel that the Matt Talbot Shrine in central Dublin is a place where they can come and experience “spiritual rehabilitation while they are undergoing other forms of rehabilitation,” he said.

Talbot was born into a poor working-class family in Dublin on 2 May 1856.

He was the second of 12 children – nine of whom survived infancy – and grew up surrounded by poverty and alcohol abuse in the aftermath of the Irish Potato Famine.

He dropped out of school barely able to read or write and began working for a wine merchant at the age of 12, where he developed a habit of tasting the drink, often returning home drunk.

By his teenage years, Talbot had already developed an addiction to alcohol, which consumed him for the next decade.

Although he worked various jobs as an unskilled labourer on the Dublin docks and then as a bricklayer, his wages were often wasted at the pub, leaving him in a state of destitution and despair.

The turning point came in 1884, when, at the age of 28, Talbot, penniless and humiliated after being refused credit, vowed to change his ways.

He confessed and made a solemn promise to abstain from alcohol for three months.

This initial commitment was the first step in a journey toward lifelong sobriety, supported by a profound spiritual conversion.

Amid the difficulties of withdrawal, Talbot turned to prayer and found comfort in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist as well as in the rosary.

He eventually adopted a life of prayer, penance and dedication to the Church.

He joined many prayer groups and fellowships, which gave him a strong sense of community.

He became one of the first members of the pioneering Sacred Heart Total Abstinence Association after its founding in Dublin in 1898.

With his newfound sobriety, Talbot was finally able to learn to read and write, which allowed him to deepen his faith.

He read biographies of St. Catherine of Siena, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Philip Neri, St. Thomas More, and many other saints, as well as The Practice of Perfection and Christian Virtues by St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, Growth in Holiness by Father Frederick William Faber, and True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort.

Talbot was “a poor man who lived an extraordinarily focused life,” according to Father Hugh O’Donnell, who served at the Matt Talbot Shrine for 20 years.

Father O’Donnell said that although Talbot continued to work in a difficult environment on the docks, he was “always focused on the divine”.

“Prayer was like breathing to him,” Father O’Donnell said.

“It wasn’t an effort. It was what he loved to do.”

“He was able to do his job, but whenever there was a break in his work… he was either reading or praying,” he said.

For the last 35 years of his life, Talbot was a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis, or Secular Franciscans.

He rose early to attend daily mass before starting work at 6 a.m.

He adopted the ascetic traditions of the early Irish monks, undertaking many personal penances.

“He was sleeping on some boards that he had next to his bed and a little block of wood that he was putting his head on, which must have been horrible,” Father O’Donnell said.

“He seemed to be able to work all day doing physical labor with very little food, which always seemed to me to be some kind of connection with the Eucharist.”

Talbot’s death on June 7, 1925, was as humble as his life.

Collapsing on a Dublin street while on his way to Trinity Sunday mass, he was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Only then was the extent of some of his penances revealed, revealing the secret chains he had worn as acts of devotion.

The Franciscans commemorate Talbot’s memory every year on June 19.

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of Talbot’s death. His legacy is one of hope.

Talbot’s story has inspired many people struggling with addiction, testifying to the possibility of healing, redemption and the human capacity to change, regardless of past mistakes.

Salesian priests at the Matt Talbot Shrine hold a special Mass on the first Monday of every month for people struggling with addictions and their families.

Many churches and cathedrals across Ireland now also offer a Mass at the same time for this intention.

The Matt Talbot Prayer Society prays daily for its registered members to be freed from addictions including alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, food and tobacco through Talbot’s intercession.